What do the colors mean for drivers?

WSDOT traffic analysts looked at how many cars were on the road past Labor Day weekends. Based on this historical data, the graphs shows how many cars (vertical axis) we project to be on the road each hour (horizontal axis) for Labor Day Weekend 2012. As the graphs turn from green to yellow, drivers can expect some congestion. During the red hours, traffic analysts predict travel will reach roadway capacity. Once a roadway reaches capacity, any small incident can cause significant backups.

What about the black line?

The black line running from left to right show typical summer traffic. This gives drivers more information on how the Labor Day 2012 holiday weekend travel may relate to a typical summer weekend.

Check the graphs below to find the projected travel information on I-5 north of Olympia through Tacoma.